


Can't Cover Up

by dear_chaton



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bedsharing, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Galra Keith (Voltron), Intrusive Thoughts, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Season 2 spoilers, had to tag that for lame friends, lance comforts keith really well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 17:57:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10724340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dear_chaton/pseuds/dear_chaton
Summary: Or the one where Keith battles with feelings, particularly for a blue paladin





	Can't Cover Up

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is my first klance fic, I’ve been wanting to write one for a while now and then this happened? Is this character study or Keith angst? I’m not sure but it was super fun to write and I hope you enjoy! Oh and thank you so much Loki for looking this over for me, and screaming at me how cute these boys are :P
> 
> And as always I hope you enjoy~

Keith was decidedly done with feelings, though he wasn't quite sure how he got himself into this situation in the first place.   
  
It started back at the Garrison, the sinking realization that maybe, just maybe that one cargo pilot that had the ability to befriend everyone he came into contact with—an exception being himself—was nothing short of perfect in his eyes. Keith tried talking to him, but Shiro always did tell him that people weren't his forte.   
  
And then suddenly Shiro was missing and in the attempt to find his brother, Keith was kicked out of the Garrison. Thinking back to that day, when he barely had enough time to pack a light bag of his belongings; consisting of his knife, jacket, and keys to a speeder, before taking off.   
  
He just had to run into Lance before he could leave the grounds. He could hear the Cuban talking about he had it coming, getting kicked out. That now he finally had a chance to become the fighter pilot he was destined to be. Keith had never known what was his problem, why he was so hated by this one individual.   
  
Hearing footsteps behind him jerked him into moving forward, no matter the glare Lance gave him as he rushed past. He wouldn’t make eye contact, he wouldn’t look back, he couldn’t.   
  
That should have been the last time he would have seen Lance.   
  
But as fate would have it, saving Shiro was closer to becoming a reality than he would have originally thought. But with the reappearance of his brother came with Lance and two others that he had never seen before.   
  
❝Nope no, no no no. Not happening I’m saving Shiro.❞ He had declared, pushing aside the table where Shiro had been and hoisted his other arm around his shoulders. That sinking feeling was back and in a fit of rage, Keith claimed to forget Lance.   
  
❝Who are you?❞   
  
❝Who am I?❞ Lance struggled to shift Shiro's weight onto his shoulders, ❝Uh, the names' Lance.❞   
  
The teen blinks at him, continuing on and Keith couldn't exactly be cared less to what he said, just as long as Shiro was out of the Garrison's clutches.   
  
Taking them all on a joyride on his precious speeder wasn't part of the plan. But he made it work, asking Hunk to shift his weight around, glancing back to make sure Pidge had a hold on Shiro, hearing Lance's terrified screams along with the others as he jumped off that one cliff.   
  
❝Just shut up and trust me,❞ He had shouted, as Lance clutched his jacket in an attempt to not fall off. That stirred something inside him, but Keith just pushed it aside.   
  
❝What have you been working on?❞   
  
Keith couldn't explain the shack out in the desert that well, couldn't quite put his tongue on the weird energy he felt while out there when he got booted. He stared at the board, even as Shiro introduced himself to Lance and the others.   
  
Finding a huge mecha lion, and stumbling into a huge cave with it just sitting there was one of the weirdest things Keith had ever experienced. Riding in the thing with Lance at the helm, he was fucking terrified. And expressed as much.   
  
❝You. Are. The. Worst. Pilot. Ever!❞   
  
And that's how he became a paladin. Well, really how all of them became paladins. Everything became a blur after that; from defeating their first Robeast, to getting the blue lion back from those traitors Rolo and Nyma, it was an adventure all right.

* * *

What he wasn't prepared for was the endless fighting with Lance. He knew the boy hated him, but this was a whole other level. This hatred towards him, Keith hadn't felt that since Shiro and his foster days. Once he turned eighteen, he had moved out with Shiro as his guardian. He knew he shouldn't rise to the bait but it was so hard.   
  
He was sinking deep into this routine of rivalry, fighting as a paladin and dealing with his inner struggle of finding out who he was. It took them almost losing Allura to Zarkon and getting lost in a wormhole that confirmed it in his mind that they could actually die out here and there was no one back home that would miss him.   
  
Everyone that he had ever cared about was right there with him. Not that they all knew it or not.   
  
Lance was a character, he always knew that for certain. But lately, after the whole space mall thing, he really thought that they have bonded. Even though Lance denied their original bonding moment after the castle takeover at Arus, he thought they were really making headway.   
  
Until the Trials of Marmora happened.   
  
Suddenly he was an outcast again. He was the enemy, the same being that they were fighting against and he was completely alone. He didn't trust himself with his three a.m. shadows anymore. He didn't even trust himself to not turn Galra, or however, it is Hunk said when the team found out.   
  
Allura couldn't even look him in the eye, Shiro was trying to be supportive but it was that disappointing brotherly look he had years of experience. Keith was done with feeling this way.   
  
So he threw himself into training, if they wanted him gone then he would train better than he ever has before. He would prove them wrong, he would show them that he was worth keeping. But it was almost too soon that they were all divided on their missions to finally put a stop to Zarkon. Hunk and he went off searching for a giant space worm that gorged on dead planets while the others did other, more interesting things.   
  
Galra Keith, Hunk had decided, was definitely funnier than regular Keith but he wouldn't let that get to him. He wouldn't let anything get to him, it would only prove to show his weakness to others.   
  
He wasn't sure how it happened. He was in his room the night before they were going to take out Zarkon, and his door hissed open. He shoved his Marmora blade under his pillow, just as he had done many times before but he guessed it didn't matter now that his heritage had been revealed.   
  
Lance walked into the room anyways. He wasn't sure why but he wasn't too keen to find out.   
  
❝Get out.❞   
  
❝No, you missed dinner, again.❞ The lanky boy crossed his arms, leaning against Keith's bed with practiced ease. He looked like he belonged there, in Keith's room. But it would never happen, he shifted his gaze away from Lance.   
  
❝Nobody missed me before why start now.❞   
  
❝Because you're part of the team? Because we care about you? Any of this ringing any bells idiot?❞ When Keith didn't respond, his teammate sat himself down next to him. Startled but too shocked to move, he watched as Lance reached behind him to grab his knife.   
  
❝I know you're worried about this and Allura but you can't let it get to you.❞ Keith blinked at Lance, the boy who he had admired throughout all of his Garrison years and suddenly it was too much to for him to bear alone.    
  
A tear slipped past his mask. And then another, and then he was crying while Lance watched on with a blank face. He was about to shove him away, didn't want his stupid crush to see him cry when a hand appeared on his back and he was being pushed forward into a chest.   
  
That caused him to cry harder, Keith couldn't stop himself once he started and Lance didn't seem to mind. A soothing hand rubbed against his spine, and fingers curled into his hair. He reached forward, grasping Lance's shirt into his fingers, just to hold onto something real and tangible.   
  
Lance was muttering something into his ear but he could barely focus on anything than trying to calm his breathing before he got a panic attack.   
  
❝Is that okay?❞ Lance pulled away for only a moment, and Keith was confused. What had he said? He wasn't entirely sure. And Lance guessed as much, chuckling softly before giving him a small smile.   
  
❝Wanna lay down buddy?❞ Keith numbly nodded, shuffling backward until he could give Lance enough room to lay down with him. The severity of the situation hadn't yet caught up with him, as Lance rested down next to him, still running fingers through his hair while Keith lay across his chest.   
  
He had never been one to cuddle, it wasn't like him to initiate touch but it was comforting having a body there with him.   
  
A body that was Lance. His long-term crush. A dense idiot at that.   
  
He stilled, what the fuck was he doing. This wasn't like them, they were normally neck and neck, fighting over every little thing and yet this was the quietest Keith had ever seen Lance in a long time. He wasn't there when the blue paladin confessed to his homesickness, he wasn't there when the boy had rambled on about being the 7th wheel, the dark look that had passed in Shiro's face when he told everyone else, Keith hadn't known what to say.   
  
Lance, their goofball of a sharpshooter was just as insecure as the rest of them, if not more. They all had their demons, but Keith never wanted to see that side of Lance ever again. He wanted to sleep next to Lance, he wanted to hold hands and get close to the boy in a way that no one had ever tried.   
  
So he let himself relax if Lance recognized that he nuzzled his nose a little farther into his shirt, he didn't say another word. Even if this was the best he was going to get to being close to Lance, Keith was going to take it.

* * *

Shiro had gone missing once again after the big fight and Keith lost his goddamn mind. Shiro was his rock, well more recently Lance had become his rock and his comforter but this was two times more than he needed to lose his brother. So he lashed out. He didn't want to lead Voltron, he denied any and all visitors to his room.

  
Lance got in most nights don't ask him how, and even if they didn't speak, Keith always found himself tangled with Lance in the morning. Allura and Keith had made up before his big mission infiltrating Zarkon's ship but that didn't mean she was totally fine with him taking over leadership.   
  
He wanted to scream, he wanted to tear his hair out. Lance would never let him, said his hair was much too soft to be torn out.   
  
❝You should see a space barber if you really want to get rid of it.❞ He had voiced his opinion on the matter, effectively distracting Keith from the matter once again as they settled in for another dreamless night. They didn't fight quite as much anymore, barely did anything at all then run training sessions with Allura as a pilot. Red refused to open to her though, and it was starting to wear them all out.   
  
The Black Lion let him enter with ease, just as she had when Shiro was in trouble after their separation out of the wormhole. Still, the whole team was suffering, it wasn't just him.   
  
They were slowly falling apart without Shiro and it was all his fault.   
  
Until Lance caught on to his intrusive thoughts and would search for him, begging him to sleep with him for a while. It always brought a blush to his face, the crush had not gone away. It had grown far stronger than he thought was capable.   
  
He was sinking into something he couldn't put his tongue on but it wasn't good.   
  
Lance was better at this kind of thing than he let everyone on. He knew how to distract Keith, distract him from his night terrors and sooth him into calmness. It was a rare feeling, to feel safe like this. Wrapped in someone he cared so deeply about.   
  
He no longer let Lance do everything, Keith would follow the blue paladin everywhere, from the training room to the dinner table, he felt at such a peace around him that he couldn't explain. And thankfully, Lance never objected.   
  
He wasn't sure how it happened but one night while they were getting ready for bed, Keith all but dropped himself onto Lance. Who in turn laughed and cupped his face as he smiled. There were so much joy and happiness in his eyes that Keith didn't think as he surged forward to catch Lance's lips with his.   
  
His recklessness was going to get him killed one day, that much he knew. But this was something different. The other boy froze for a moment before he pulled away, and yet held Keith in place while he desperately wanted to run away.   
  
❝About fucking time,❞ He was confused, and yet so ready to bolt that he gasped when Lance gave him a kiss. And then another and another and before he knew it, his entire face was being kissed by the same lips he's dreamed about since forever. He was still confused.   
  
❝Ah right so I thought a really long time ago that you hated me and I asked Shiro what you thought of me and not to subtly implied that you liked me. I'm sorry!❞ He hadn't even finished his sentence before Keith was bashing a space pillow over top his head, face burning red.   
  
❝That smug bastard how could he?❞   
  
❝But hey I would have never had the courage to do this otherwise.❞ Again, words went over his head as Lance sat himself up, pulling Keith close to him.   
  
❝I like you, a lot. Actually since the Garrison and maybe Shiro was wrong and maybe that was a pity kiss but maybe after this is over we could try something?❞ He didn't know how to speak, he lost his ability to, so when he found his voice he sputtered out the only thing that came to mind.   
  
❝I want you to pilot Red.❞   
  
❝Wait for what?❞   
  
❝I mean yes I would like that but I want you to pilot Red, Allura isn't getting through to her.❞   
  
❝And you think I can?❞   
  
❝I know you can Sharpshooter.❞ And Lance's jaw fell slack, he rubbed the back of his neck as something Keith recognized as full on embarrassment.    
  
❝If you say so Mr. Hotshot.❞ They stared at each other for the longest time. It was getting late Earth time, the lights around them dimmed a little bit more with every passing minute.   
  
❝We'll talk in the morning? Tell Allura your grand plan at breakfast?❞ Keith could only nod sleepily, letting his body fall onto the bed unceremoniously as Lance got in after him. They had been sharing beds for a month now, but knowing the boy next to him actually returned his feelings, that maybe things would start to look up, that made him giddy.   
  
Keith could barely sleep, Lance conked out fairly fast, who could blame him when Keith trained them as rigorously as he did. He had gone years running on little sleep. It was when he got too much that he was a tired mess, and most of the time it was Lance's fault.   
  
So maybe it was his fault that they woke up late the next morning. Maybe Keith had just wanted to spend a little more time with the person who made life bearable again. Yes, Shiro was still gone but he had one hell of a crew to support him and for him to support during this hardship.   
  
That didn't stop him from dragging Lance to Red's hanger as soon as the breakfast meeting had adjourned. The other paladins followed closely, some with knowing smiles while others had tears in their eyes as the paladins seemed to move as one in a way they never had before.   
  
They were in good hands as the red lion opened its jaws for Lance, whoops and breaths of relief all around. Keith watched on as everyone congratulated Lance, yeah they were a bit broken, but they were strong enough to pull through this.   
  
Keith wasn't quite finished with this whole feeling thing, he still had a lot to experience especially if he had that goofball with him.


End file.
